Event
Saskatoon, I have a crush on you
Apr 20th
Last night I was given a great reminder of why I love Saskatoon:
The evening started with a lecture on Downtown Urban Planning and Design by Jennifer Keesmaat at the Broadway Theatre. About 1/2-2/3 of the seats were full for the 1.5 hour lecture and 20 min Q&A session. Jennifer did an amazing job of holding the audiences captivation with a talk that drew on best practices from elsewhere and two case studies from Halifax and Regina (yes, Regina – who knew!). In particular, a great deal of time was spent outlining the downtown Master Plan recently adopted by the City of Regina (and a subject I’ll delve into in the coming weeks). The process, the planning, and the implementation of which is going full steam ahead.
From my perspective there were three key take-home messages from Jennifer’s lecture; i) practical and achievable goals are a must, you can have the best laid plans but if you don’t set out an implementation path they will never be realized; ii) Making champions of politicos and community leaders, evolving downtown’s doesn’t happen without engaging and sustaining the imagination and weight of our municipal leaders; and iii) Clear, concise plans – having a well design and More >
IceCycle this Sunday!
Feb 5th
Among other activities in Saskatoon that I am a fan of, cycling is definitely near the top of that list. While cycling is my primary mode of transportation April through November, the bike usually goes into storage and I onto city transit during the winter.
However, this event will have me dusting off the bike and getting out on Saskatoon’s winter streets on Sunday Afternoon. The city has committed to plowing the roads, putting down some sand, and even giving riders an escort on a 3 km loop from the Farmer’s Market and back.
More information is available at IceCycle.ca, those who sign up are eligible for some pretty sweet discounts from many of our local cycle shops as well!
Video Friday: Sunday Streets & Parking Reform
Jun 4th
Posted by Sean Shaw in City Planning
1 comment
It’s Friday and that means it’s time for the weekly break from intense blog posts and, instead, time for a film – or two.
The first film highlights a growing movement in cities called Sunday Streets. The concept is simple, a city (such as Portland in this video) closes down a stretch of road to cars and encourages residents to get out to walk, run, bike, roller blade, and generally mingle with each other, with some food, festive events, and music thrown in for good measure. Think Broadway during the FringeFest or Street-fair, but double the length of closed road.
What do you think? Would this be something you would be willing to participate in here in Saskatoon?
The second film “Parking Reform” focuses on the argument that a good chunk of traffic consists of drivers looking for parking and that by increasing the cost of parking you can reduce this type of traffic. The video is centered on parking in New York City; however, the concept is readily transferable to Saskatoon. Really? your probably thinking…but wait, stop and think when was the last time you drove around the block a few times to find that perfect spot? You know the one, within More >